Residents and visitors to the town of Melita are noticing the new billboards at the entrances into their community, thanks to the efforts of the local art group, the Prairie Vision Arts Council, and students at Melita School.
The local arts group received a provincial grant through the Arts, Culture and Sports in Community Fund to enhance communities in Manitoba. The three billboards outside Melita welcoming folks to town was a project that fit the description for the funding, especially since it was Melita and area students who would be partnering with Arts Council.
"The idea was to engage local students to share how they felt about their community, expressing that in words and in pictures with the intention of creating new billboards for the three existing locations," shares project lead, JoAnne Juce. "We put this out to the school and the principal was very supportive."
The committee had three submissions from middle school aged students; a group project and two individual contenders. The students were encouraged to research and interview local residents, to create the graphics and a slogan for their billboard.
Once they had a rough draft the students were guided by a mentor well-versed in the Arts to field questions and guide the students to create a scaled down version of their billboard.
"Interestingly, they all had a different view of what they thought Melita was all about, which was very cool," shares Juce. "Once they were finished, their billboard designs were judged by a jury of professional artists. These artists were not from Melita. They were just going off on the quality of the work and the concept of the signage. And so, we had a first, second and third place winner at the end of that process."
At the end of the school year last June the committee held an awards event where each of the participants received a monetary prize and were recognized in a larger public way.
The First Prize was awarded to the duo, Lemmy Garrett and Brianna Weelans for their billboard showcasing a variety of activities throughout the year, giving a special nod to Melita's banana mascot.
Second Place was awarded to Eva Snyder. focused on Melita being the birding capital of Canada. She also wanted to bring attention to local endangered species such as Ferruginous Hawk and the Burrowing Owl.
Third Place was awarded to Brooklyn Raynor, showcasing Melita as being in the heart of a prairie region.
All three billboards have been installed and welcome folks to Melita each in their own way, and they're bright and colorful and share a little bit about the southwest corner of the province in a special way.
"So, if you drive down south from Virden, you're going to see the birds, and if you drive down from the east on Hwy 3 you're going to see a beautiful sunset scene with grain elevators and hills, and if you're heading southwest down to Pierson or to Minot you're going to see the third sign, and that's the banana sign with sports in both winter and summer," explains Juce.
The billboards have received very positive feedback from their residents. "The comments have been extremely favorable, and it tells the story of the different aspects of our town; it's multi-faceted. Yes, this has been a successful project."
The Prairie Vision Arts Council has been encouraging their community in the Arts through a variety of venues, including ownership and operation of the Strand Theatre in Melita.
(photo credit Prairie Vision Arts Council)